Spring Cleaning

With the new smell of freshly cut grass and sight of butterflies fluttering by, many feel a new sense of refreshment during spring. The end of winter and the sun peaking back out evokes a new beginning within all of us. For this reason, cleaning during this time of year can add to the feeling of refreshment. For dancers, one of the things that always gets dirty for us is our dance bags. Depending on the type of dance you do, the contents of the bag will differ, so I will be discussing a ballet bag. With a hectic schedule, it can be so easy to get disorganized which will lead to unpreparedness. The essential articles of clothing in your ballet bag should include an extra pair of pink tights, a leotard, and jazz shorts. There are the basics that will ensure you are prepared for whatever kind of day you will encounter at dance. In addition to these, I would recommend having a little coin purse that easily snaps open for your bobby pins, hair ties, and hair nets, as we all know how easy it is to lose these quickly. Furthermore, if you wear pointe shoes, purchasing glue to harden the box of the the pointe shoes to make them last longer is an extremely useful tool. By throwing this in your dance bag, you can instantly revive dying pointe shoes during long rehearsals and save the blisters on your feet too! Lastly, if you are en pointe, you probably have blisters or at least get blisters from time to time. On some occasions, they appear out of nowhere and give you no warning time. Thus, placing blister tape and bandages in a little coin purse in your dance bag can keep these organized and accessible. When cleaning your dance bag, make sure everything is organized in different pouches, so the bobby pins do not get mixed up with the bandages, and only keep essentials in the bag. Superflous materials will only make it worse as the bag gets messier. I hope this tip helped and everyone feels rejuvinated with a fresh dance bag!
Here is what is inside my ballet bag (there are some things I did not mention as well):